Is Universal Control Not Working on M1 Mac or Intel Mac, macOS Monterey? You are not alone! In this guide, We’ll walk you step-by-step on how to fix the issue.
Universal Control is one of the most useful convenience features that Apple has introduced to macOS Monterey, letting you work with a single mouse and keyboard and move between Mac and iPad for a seamless experience, with no setup required. Users can even drag and drop content back and forth between devices — great for sketching a drawing with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it into a Keynote slide on the Mac. But, as with anything else, problems will likely crop up from time to time.
If you find yourself experiencing a problem with universal Control feature, follow these steps to fix the issue.
What’s Universal Control?
Universal Control is a new wireless (or wired) feature coming to the iPad and Mac computers that will let you connect your Mac and iPad to use them with a single mouse and keyboard.
Universal Control is similar to working with two monitors, except it’s two or more separate devices (like a MacBook and an iPad) that will connect so you can drag-and-drop files, pictures, and more.
How Does Universal Control Work?
In true Apple fashion, Universal Control won’t need any extra effort or extra equipment. You’ll only need to put your devices near each other, and they’ll know you want to pair them. Or better said, they’ll assume that you want to.
You just need to put two or three devices close enough for their Bluetooth modules to activate, basically, and once they’re close enough, simply move your Mac cursor to the edge of your screen, either left or right, and your Mac will assume that you want to use Universal Control.
When you move your cursor a little beyond the edge of the screen, your devices trigger a direct Wi-Fi connection, and the cursor moves to the other device.
You’ll know it’s working because a small bar will appear on your iPad. This bar will help you better align your Mac cursor on your iPad, and you’ll need to move the cursor a little farther so you can start using it on your iPad.
Of course, this happens in a matter of seconds, and you don’t need to do anything other than moving your cursor into the other device. That being said, you do need to meet some requirements before starting using Universal Control.
How Many Devices Can You Connect to Universal Control?
Universal Control lets you connect up to three devices at once. It can be one Mac and two iPads or two Macs. One thing to note is that if you have several devices that support Universal Control, your Mac or iPad will automatically connect to the device you used most recently. But instead of using the device you want, you can add a default device, so your Mac or iPad automatically connects to it.
What Can You Do with Universal Control?
Connecting two or three devices by using Universal Control will let you control all devices with a single mouse and keyboard. Universal Control will also allow you to share files across all devices. For instance, if you need an image from your iPad to finish a presentation on your Mac, you can move the image from one device to the other simply by dragging it and dropping it on your Mac.
You can also move files from your Mac to your iPad, but you’ll first need to make sure that your iPad has an app open that supports the file. For instance, you need to have the Files app open if you want your iPad to receive a file from your Mac.
See also: AirDrop not working on Big Sur? Fix
Troubleshooting macOS Monterey universal control not working issue
before you start troubleshooting universal Control Issues, ensure the following:
- Each device has Bluetooth turned on.
- Each device has Wi-Fi turned on.
- Both devices have Handoff turned on.
1. Does your device support universal control?
Before you start using Universal Control, well, you need to make sure you can actually use it. First, not every Mac or iPad will support this feature, so you’ll need to make sure yours has Universal Control available.
Which Macs Support Universal Control?
- 2016 or later MacBook Pro.
- 2016 or later MacBook.
- 2018 or later MacBook Air.
- 2017 or later iMac.
- Late 2015 and later 27-inch iMac.
- iMac Pro.
- 2018 and later Mac mini.
- 2019 and later Mac Pro.
Which iPads Support Universal Control?
- iPad Pro.
- 3rd Generation and later iPad Air.
- 6th Generation and later iPad.
- 5th generation and later iPad mini.
2. Make sure your Mac and iPad are close to each other
First, you need to get the iPad and Mac relatively close to each other. Universal Control is built off the same Continuity and Handoff features that have long been a part of iOS and macOS. When the devices are close enough, their Bluetooth modules let each other know.
3. Make sure your Mac and iPad are signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID
Of course, all the devices here need to be on the same iCloud account for this to work.
4. HAVE YOU CHECKED MOUSE OR TRACKPAD?
Make sure your Mouse or Trackpad is working. Universal Control’s base equipment is your Mouse or Trackpad, which is connected to the Mac.
To troubleshoot a Wireless mouse:
- Turn your mouse off, wait a few seconds and turn it back on. Try to connect it again
- Toggle Bluetooth off and back on in macOS. Go to System Preferences > Bluetooth, and click the Turn Bluetooth Off/On button. Now reconnect your mouse
- Unpair your mouse from macOS and then pair them again. In the Bluetooth settings, click the X next to the name of your mouse. This will unpair it. Now pair it again as normal. Now try using universal control.
To start up Universal Control, drag your mouse pointer all the way to the left or right edge of your Mac’s screen, then a little bit beyond that edge. When you do, the Mac will assume that you’re trying to drag the mouse over to another device, in this case the iPad.
At this point, a Wi-Fi Direct connection is made and the iPad will show a small bar on the side with a little bump. It’s a sort of indicator that the iPad is aware you’re trying to drag a mouse into it. Keep dragging and pow, the bump breaks free into a circular mouse pointer. When the mouse is on the iPad screen, both it and the keyboard on your Mac control the iPad. Move it back to the Mac, and you control the Mac.
5. DON’T SHARE INTERNET OR CELLULAR CONNECTION
Apple indicates that users should not share internet or cellular data while using Universal Control. So make sure you are not sharing cellular data or internet connection from the devices on which you want to use Universal Control.
6. RESTART MAC, IPAD, IMAC
If universal control is not working at this point, a good way to kick things back into gear is to “force” a restart. Even if you can interact with these devices, a force restart can help knock out any potential cobwebs or bugs that are happening.
To Force Restart Your Mac:
Press and hold down the Command (⌘) and Control (Ctrl) keys along with the power button (or the Touch ID / Eject button, depending on the Mac model) until the screen goes blank and the machine restarts.
To force restart your iPad:
Quickly press and release the Volume Up button. Next, quickly press and release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears. When the logo appears, release the Side button.